Maine DHHS chief expects feds will want Medicaid funds back

Maine will likely have to repay the federal government for providing Medicaid coverage to as many as 19,000 ineligible patients during the past year and a half, Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew said today. It will take the state weeks to figure out how much the state paid out improperly and how much money may have to be repaid to the federal government, Mayhew said. Mayhew spoke to federal officials about the latest problem with MaineCare's troubled computerized eligibility and claims systems. She also briefed lawmakers for a second day, answering questions about what the computer problem will cost the state and why the Legislature was not notified sooner.